President Joe Biden‘s chief political rival, former President Donald Trump, is facing various legal problems amid his 2024 presidential bid, but the current commander-in-chief is also facing his own legal headaches as he seeks reelection.
Recent court rulings and legal limbo have left Biden with some vulnerabilities as the 2024 campaign kicks into high gear in the coming year. Here are three of the legal situations which may cause problems for the president’s reelection bid.
HOW THE SUPREME COURT COULD NEXT REIN IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
Supreme Court rulings
The Supreme Court has been a thorn in Biden’s side for much of his presidency, with the high court striking down some of the president’s initiatives as unconstitutional.
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, which the president asserts would have wiped away $400 billion in student debt, was unconstitutional, in a 6-3 majority. The court ruled that the proposed plan required congressional approval and could not be done through executive action under the HEROES Act, as the Biden administration has asserted.
In 2022, the high court also struck down Biden’s proposed COVID-19 private sector vaccination requirement, which would have mandated businesses with 100 or more employees require all workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine or test for the virus daily.
The Supreme Court, which acts as a check to the executive and legislative branches, has also ruled against policy preferences of the Biden administration, including on matters of abortion, affirmative action, and free speech.
Classified documents investigation
While the classified documents investigation involving Trump, which garnered a federal indictment, has received more attention, Biden is also under investigation for similar allegations.
Biden is under investigation for his alleged mishandling of classified documents from his time as vice president and as a senator. Classified documents were found at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., and Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, residence, leading to an investigation by special counsel Robert Hur.
Information on Hur’s investigation of the president has been sparse since he was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in January 2023.
Social media coordination ruling
A federal judge ordered Biden administration officials to cease contact with social media companies, saying the two entities were working to censor speech.
The preliminary injunction, filed on Tuesday by Judge Terry A. Doughty in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, forbids officials from flagging or discussing content with social media companies, with exceptions for posting related to criminal activity or national security threats.
Then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in July 2021 the administration was “flagging problematic posts for Facebook” in an admission of coordination between the government and social media companies regarding speech.
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Within the first family, Biden also has to worry about the legal troubles of his son, Hunter Biden. Last month it was announced Hunter Biden would enter a plea deal related to two charges regarding his alleged failure to pay federal income tax. The investigation into Hunter Biden by U.S. Attorney David Weiss, which produced those charges, has come under increased scrutiny after IRS whistleblowers came forward to allege that Weiss was blocked from bringing various other charges against the president’s son.
Biden is widely expected to be the nominee for the Democratic Party for the 2024 presidential election, with no major candidates challenging the incumbent president from his party.
